1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to a hermetic vessel equipped with an inserted-type discharge pipe, and more particularly, to a hermetic vessel capable of reducing noise caused by fluid flow, and an oil separator, a gas-liquid separator, and an air conditioning system using the hermetic vessel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a hermetic vessel equipped with an inserted-type discharge pipe is used in an air conditioning system to form a space for storing fluid or separating gas and liquid from each other. An oil separator or a gas-liquid separator mounted to a refrigerant pipe in the air conditioning system is an example of the hermetic vessel.
A conventional oil separator used in an air conditioning system is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2002-213843. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a conventional oil separator includes a hermetic vessel body 1, an inflow pipe 2 and a discharge pipe 3 which are inserted into the vessel body 1 through a top wall of the vessel body 1, and an oil pipe 4 which is connected to a bottom wall of the vessel body 1. An outlet of the inflow pipe 2 is directed along an inner peripheral surface of the vessel body 1 so that refrigerant entering the vessel body 1 can swirl.
The refrigerant entering the vessel body 1 through the inflow pipe 2 swirls inside the vessel body 1, and then is discharged through the discharge pipe 3. Thus, oil contained in the refrigerant collides with the inner peripheral surface of the vessel body 1 by a centrifugal force, and is separated from the refrigerant. The separated oil flows down along the inner peripheral surface of the vessel body 1, and is discharged through the oil pipe 4.
However, the conventional oil separator has a disadvantage in that noise is generated from the discharge pipe 3 because a powerful vortex is generated near an inlet of the discharge pipe 3 when the refrigerant swirling in the vessel body 1 is discharged through the discharge pipe 3. Because the vortex generated near the inlet of the discharge pipe 3 affects a standing wave which is generated in the discharge pipe 3 by the refrigerant flow, the noise is similar to a draining sound generated when the refrigerant is discharged. Further, the noise may be transferred to an outside oil separator through the discharge pipe 3.